Ralston Purina
Ralston Purina Company was a
History
Ralston Purina (originally Ralston-Purina) traces its roots to 1894, when founder William H. Danforth established the animal feed company Purina Mills. Danforth formed a partnership with George Robinson; William Andrews entered the business of feeding farm animals by founding the Robinson-Danforth Commission Company. Its predominant brand for each animal was generally referred to as "Chow"; hence "Purina Horse Chow", "Purina Dog Chow", "Purina Cat Chow", "Purina Rabbit Chow", "Purina Pig Chow", and "Purina Monkey Chow".
Later, the company began producing cereal, which received endorsement by
In 1986, Ralston Purina sold Purina Mills, its US animal feed business, to
Merger with Nestlé
Ralston Purina became the subject of an acquisition bid by Swiss-based Nestlé, whose Friskies brand was the other leading US brand of pet food. Nestlé S.A. and Ralston Purina announced in January 2001 a definitive merger agreement.[5] Under the agreement, Nestlé acquired all of Ralston Purina's (NYSE: RAL) outstanding shares for US$33.50 per share in cash. The offer represented a premium of 36% over the closing price on Friday, January 12, 2001. The transaction had an enterprise value of US$10.3 billion ($10.0 billion equity plus $1.2 billion of net debt, minus $0.9 billion of financial investments).
Several brands of pet food (e.g., "
While primarily a pet-food company, Ralston Purina also made some other pet-related products, such as Tidy Cats brand and Yesterday's News
Acquisitions and diversifications
In 1974, Ralston Purina purchased and further developed the Keystone ski resort in Colorado. "Checkerboard Flats" for kids and beginners at Keystone[6] still bears their logo. In 1993, Ralston Purina also bought Breckenridge ski area for an undisclosed amount, from Victoria U.S.A. Inc, a Japanese sporting goods retailer.[7] However, both ski resorts were sold in 1997 to Vail Resorts for $331 million.[8]
In 1977, Ralston Purina acquired Missouri Arena Corporation and the St. Louis Blues National Hockey League franchise. During the company's ownership of the team, they changed the name of the St. Louis Arena to the Checkerdome, reflecting the Ralston Purina logo. The franchise was sold to Harry Ornest on July 27, 1983.
Ralston Purina purchased the
Ralston Purina purchased
Ralston Purina opened test market pizza stores called Checkerboard Pizza in 1986. The format was similar to Domino's and Little Caesars. They opened the stores in markets such as Moorhead, Minnesota, to test how the Midwestern market would accept the concept. They did well, but Ralston Purina decided not to enter the pizza franchise business and closed all pilots by late 1987.
Ralston Purina also owned Jack in the Box fast food restaurants from 1968 to 1985,[10] along with several high-end restaurants.[11][12]
Ralston Purina owned
Ralston Purina owned an animal pharmaceutical company in the 1970s and 1980s.
Logo
Ralston Purina's "checkerboard" trademark was introduced in 1902.[14][15][16] It was inspired by William Danforth's childhood memory of a family dressed in clothing made from the same bolt of checkerboard cloth.[17] The company's headquarters was called Checkerboard Square. Danforth used the design as the visualization of a concept put forth in his book I Dare You, in which he proposed that four key components in life ("Physical", "Mental", "Social", and "Religious") need to be in balance, and one area was not to develop at the expense of the others.[18] In 1921, the design inspired the design of feed that was pressed in cubes, called "checkers".[19]
See also
References
- ^ "Purina: Nutritious Dog and Cat Food for Your Pet". www.purina.com.
- ^ Carman, Tim (2009-04-16), "Food History Potpourri: Ralston Purina's D.C. Roots", Washington City Paper, retrieved 2009-10-19
- ^ "History of Ralston Purina". Purina. 7 September 2016.
- ^ History at Cargill.com
- ^ Ackman, Dan (2001-01-16). "Nestle Seals Ralston Deal". Forbes. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ^ "Skiing for Non-experts". LA Times. 13 November 1988.
- ^ "Ralston Purina Announces Purchase of Ski Resort". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ "Rebirth of a mega-resort". www.bizjournals.com. Feb 23, 1997. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
- ^ "Ralston Purina Buys Carbide Unit". New York Times. July 1, 1986. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
- ^ "Jack In The Box Inc. - Our Company".
- ^ "Ralston Purina Agrees to Sell Fast-Food Unit : Management Will Buy Jack in the Box's Parent". Los Angeles Times. 1985-05-01.
- ^ "Ralston Agrees to Sell Jack in the Box Unit". Los Angeles Times. 1985-09-21.
- ^ "St. Louis-based Ralston Purina Co. said it..." Los Angeles Times. 1988-07-28.
- ^ "Ralston Purina Evolved from a Small Store". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. February 16, 1964. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ISBN 9781932022704.
- ^ Ralston Chronicle, 1894-1994: A Century of Managing Change. Saint Louis, MO: Ralston Purina Company. 1994. pp. i.
- ^ "A Glimpse from the Past to the Present". Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
- ISBN 0-7661-2786-9.
- ^ "William H. Danforth, Founder". Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. Archived from the original on June 29, 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
External links
- Official website
- Purina Mobile Website
- Cargill's Purina division (international animal feed brand)
- Agribrands Purina Canada Inc. (Canada animal feed brand)
- Purina Mills Poultry Nutrition
- Purina iPhone App
- Purina BlackBerry App
- Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (2020). History of Ralston Purina Co. and the Work of William H. and Donald E. Danforth, Protein Technologies International, and Solae with Soy (1894-2020): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook (PDF). Lafayette, CA: Soyinfo center. ISBN 9781948436267.